Flags to fly at half-staff for former US Rep. HammerschmidtLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has ordered that U.S. and state flags be flown at half-staff for the memorial service for former U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt. The proclamation announced Saturday and dated Friday orders the flags fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, which would have been Hammerschmidt's 93rd birthday. Hutchinson — a Republican like Hammerschmidt — called Hammerschmidt "an Arkansas icon, polit...

Mayor condemns Interstate 40 billboardChanges to a billboard message that is visible to westbound traffic on Interstate 40 in the area of Exit 81 in Russellville have brought denouncement from the mayor. It was unclear who changed the content on the billboard to read “It’s Not Racist To Love (heart symbol) Your Own People.” The billboard with a pro-white message also included “broadcasted from Harrison, Arkansas,” and the phrase “Love Lives Here!” Mayor Randy Horton issued a press...

US Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle and wife have baby boyLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Just a few months after taking office, freshman U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton has another new job to adjust to: dad. The Republican from Dardanelle announced on Twitter on Tuesday that his wife, Anna, gave birth to a baby boy on Monday night. Cotton's office said the boy was born in Washington and weighs 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Cotton is an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and served one term in Congress representing south...

More local governments push for LGBT protectionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Officials in Arkansas' most populous county and one of its most popular tourist destinations said Tuesday they're considering prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, expanding the pushback against a new state law criticized as anti-gay. A member of the Hot Springs city board said she's proposing prohibiting the city and its vendors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and tra...

March for Marriage meets oppositionThe March for Marriage, a demonstration Saturday conducted by the Russellville Tea Party to support traditional marriage, was met with opposition at the Russellville Train Depot by several groups that support marriage equality. As the March for Marriage supporters congregated on the lawn outside the depot, the protesters gathered a block away — en masse. The smaller March for Marriage group made their way through downtown Russellville to the P...

Little Rock approves anti-discrimination protectionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock officials have voted to require companies contracting with the city to not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, challenging a new Arkansas law criticized as anti-gay. The city's board on Tuesday approved the ordinance, which prohibits the city and its vendors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Arkansas earlier this year became the second state to bar...

Ethics Commission weighing how to administer lobbying lawLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Some Arkansas Ethics Commission members are questioning how they will administer a new law restricting their ability to investigate elected officials who accept gifts from lobbyists. Act 1280 was passed by the Legislature this year and grants a grace period to any lawmaker or other state elected official who unintentionally accepts a prohibited gift from a lobbyist and returns it within 30 days of learning that it's barred b...

Plan to settle $3.2M in illegally collected tax is approvedLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Pulaski County judge has approved a plan to settle a 2008 case involving $3.2 million in illegally collected property tax revenue. Circuit Judge Tim Fox approved the settlement Friday, ending nearly seven years of litigation over a tax increase that benefited the Central Arkansas Library System. There are more than 11,200 refund applications to claim $459,582 of the money so far. Refund checks will be sent out this summer....

Huckabee to share 2016 plans in Hope, Arkansas, on May 5WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Friday that he will tell supporters on May 5 in the hometown he shares with former President Bill Clinton whether or not he will seek the Republicans' presidential nomination. Huckabee, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in 2008, has been taking steps to launch a White House bid in recent months, including stepping down from his paid position at Fox News. He told his former em...

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia visits Arkansas collegeMOUNTAIN HOME (AP) — Mountain Home recently received a visit from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The Baxter Bulletin reported Scalia spoke to constitutional law students at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home on Thursday. He held a question-and-answer session later that day with the general public on the university's campus. Scalia spoke about various topics including interpretations of the Constitution and what he sees as the ...

Judge urged to vacate order dismissing oil-spill lawsuitLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Plaintiffs are urging a federal judge in Little Rock to vacate his order dismissing a class-action lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, claiming the oil giant suppressed evidence in the case. The lawsuit, filed over a 2013 oil spill in a Mayflower subdivision, was dismissed last month by the judge. It had been filed on behalf of landowners whose property was physically crossed by the pipeline. The plaintiffs' attorneys contend in a ...

Solar panels removed from Little Rock hospital for parkingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Some of the unused solar panels at the Little Rock Veterans Affairs hospital have been taken down to make room for a new parking deck. About 7,300 panels were installed over a year ago in the parking lot of the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in 2013 at a cost of about $8 million. Some of the panels are being removed so a new parking deck can be built. According to Marty Risner, an energy manager with U.S. Depar...

Hutchinson interested in merit selection for judgesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called Friday for a renewed debate on whether the state's appellate judges should be appointed rather than popularly elected, a move that comes amid a high-profile split on the Supreme Court over a gay marriage case. The Republican governor stopped short of specifically endorsing a plan to no longer elect members of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, but said he thinks it's time to examine t...

Hillary Clinton to announce presidential campaign on SundayWASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton will end months of speculation about her political future and launch her long-awaited 2016 presidential campaign on Sunday, according to people familiar with her plans. The first official word that Clinton will seek the Democratic Party's nomination will come via an online video posted on social media. She'll then make stops in key early voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, where she'll hold...

Legislative session adjournment set for April 22LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol later this month to end this year's legislative session. Legislative leaders on Thursday announced that lawmakers would return April 22 to formally adjourn the legislative session. The General Assembly recessed the session last week after a last-minute fight over a religious objections measure. The adjournment will likely be quick and mostly ceremonial, since there aren't a...

Hutchinson: No urgent need for anti-discrimination orderLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday he doesn't see an urgent need to expand workplace anti-discrimination protections for gay and lesbian state employees after lawmakers reworked a religious objections measure to address concerns it was discriminatory. The Republican governor told reporters he floated the idea of such an order as an alternative in case lawmakers didn't agree to his request to revise a bill prohibiting...

Senator's staff talks reimbursement with health providersNORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Representatives from dozens of Arkansas medical facilities told stories Wednesday of lost medical records, requests for reimbursement that have gone unpaid for months and other problems when asking federal officials to pay for medical care provided to veterans. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, sent staff members to facilitate a meeting between local and federal Veterans Affairs officials, medical facilities, physici...

Governor OKs bill allowing Ten Commandments displayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' governor has approved legislation that will allow a monument to the Ten Commandments to be constructed near the state Capitol. A spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday said the governor had signed the bill requiring the state to allow a privately funded display of the commandments to be built on the state Capitol grounds. Lawmakers sent the measure to Hutchinson last week. Supporters of the proposal have sa...

Fort Smith hikes sewer rate to fund system improvementsFORT SMITH (AP) — Fort Smith city directors voted Tuesday to increase sewer rates by 60 percent in an effort to raise money to pay for almost $500 million in sewer system improvements. The directors passed the ordinance 6-1 on Tuesday. It will raise volume and billing charges three times over the next 20 months. According to calculations by Fort Smith consultant Burns & McDonnell, the typical household in Fort Smith will see its sewer bill inc...

Hutchinson signs bill to aid Arkansans with disabilitiesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Families of people with disabilities will be able to set up tax-free savings accounts under a bill signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Republican Rep. Julie Mayberry of Hensley says her bill will empower people with disabilities to be more self-sufficient. The accounts can be used for education, transportation, health care and other training or support. The state treasurer, director of human services and director of reha...